Nokia Lumia 525 budget Windows Phone with 1GB of RAM unveiled

After weeks of speculation, Nokia's new budget Windows Phone, the Lumia 525, is now official. Unfortunately, there is no word on the availability and pricing of the Lumia 525 for various markets. However, Engadget notes that the Lumia 525's official listing includes three regions - Africa, Asia Pacific and Middle East.

The major highlight of the Nokia Lumia 525 is that the smartphone features 1GB of RAM, which is double than the 512MB RAM found on other budget Lumia smartphones (Nokia Lumia 520, Nokia Lumia 620 and Nokia Lumia 625). Other specifications of the Lumia 525 are identical to the Lumia 520

Specification

GENERAL	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - RM-998
	3G Network	HSDPA 900 / 2100 - RM-998
	SIM	Micro-SIM
	Announced	2013, November
	Status	Coming soon

BODY	Dimensions	119.9 x 64 x 9.9 mm, 75.7 cc (4.72 x 2.52 x 0.39 in)
	Weight	124 g (4.37 oz)

DISPLAY	Type	IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	480 x 800 pixels, 4.0 inches (~233 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes
	Protection	Scratch-resistant glass

SOUND	Alert types	Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes

MEMORY	Card slot	microSD, up to 64 GB
	Internal	8 GB, 1 GB RAM

DATA	GPRS	Class B
	EDGE	Up to 236.8 kbps
	Speed	HSDPA, 21.1 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
	Bluetooth	Yes, v4.0 with A2DP, LE
	USB	Yes, microUSB v2.0

CAMERA	Primary	5 MP, 2592х1936 pixels, autofocus
	Features	1/4'' sensor size, geo-tagging
	Video	Yes, 720p@30fps
	Secondary	No

FEATURES	OS	Microsoft Windows Phone 8 Black
	Chipset	Qualcomm MSM8227
	CPU	Dual-core 1 GHz
	GPU	Adreno 305
	Sensors	Accelerometer, proximity
	Messaging	SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
	Browser	HTML5
	Radio	FM Radio
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS
	Java	No
	Colors	Black, White, Yellow, Red
		- SNS integration - Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - MP3/WAV/eAAC+/WMA player - MP4/H.264/H.263/WMV player - 7GB free SkyDrive storage - Document viewer - Video/photo editor - Voice memo/dial/commands - Predictive text input

BATTERY		Li-Ion 1430 mAh battery (BL-5J)
	Stand-by	Up to 336 h (2G) / Up to 336 h (3G)
	Talk time	Up to 17 h (2G) / Up to 10 h 40 min (3G)
	Music play	Up to 48 h

Apple awarded $290m in Samsung case

Samsung has been ordered to pay Apple $290 million (£180 million) for copying several iPhone and iPad features in its own devices

The latest legal battle between Samsung andApple came after Judge Lucy Koh ordered a retrial. Apple was awarded just over $1 billion in damages by a jury.

However, Koh said that the jury had miscalculated how much Samsung owed Apple.

Samsung is expected to appeal the finding. It accepted that it is guilty of infringing Apple’s features, but argues it only owes around $50 million.

Apple however argued that the Samsung’s success in the smartphone market is entirely down to it infringing its patents. It argues that many customers buying a Samsung smartphone would have bought an iPhone instead.

In doing so, Apple would still be the largest smartphone maker in the market, while Samsung would be a bit player along with the likes of HTC and Sony.

Apple said in a statement: "For Apple, this case has always been about more than patents and money. It has been about innovation and the hard work that goes into inventing products that people love.

“While it’s impossible to put a price tag on those values, we are grateful to the jury for showing Samsung that copying has a cost.”

The $290 million awarded in this case comes on top of the $550 million Samsung already owes Microsoft from the original case.

In total, Apple has now been awarded nearly $930 million in damages from Samsung.

The case has seen heated exchanges from both sides of the courtroom.

Earlier in the week, Samsung lawyer William Price argued that “Apple doesn’t own beautiful and sexy”, nor did it own the “basic rectangle” shape of smartphones.

Meanwhile, Apple head of marketing said that Samsung’s copying had diminished the iPhone brand and is the only reason it now dominates the market.

LG G Pad 8.3 review: well-designed, but priced too high

LG tries. It tries for US relevance, but the company's product offerings -- usually its smartphones -- consistently lack the je ne sais quoi necessary to succeed. The G Pad, an 8.3-inch Android tablet that recently debuted at IFA 2013, could break that dry spell, becoming the first serious competitor to the iPad mini's styling andthe first high-profile LG tablet. Is it filled with bleeding-edge specs? No, not really. LG opted to imbue the G Pad with a Snapdragon 600 heart -- a trade-off made in the interest of better battery life and less overheating. The tablet also arrives with a 1,920 x 1,200 IPS panel, giving it an immediate leg up: 1080p resolution in an 8-inch form factor.

Specification:

GENERAL	2G Network
	SIM	No
	Announced	2013, September
	Status	Coming soon. Exp. release 2013, Q4

BODY	Dimensions	216.8 x 126.5 x 8.3 mm (8.54 x 4.98 x 0.33 in)
	Weight	338 g (11.92 oz)

DISPLAY	Type	Capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	1200 x 1920 pixels, 8.3 inches (~273 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes

SOUND	Alert types	Vibration, Polyphonic, MP3 ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes, with stereo speakers
	3.5mm jack	Yes

MEMORY	Card slot	microSD, up to 64 GB
	Internal	16 GB, 2 GB RAM

DATA	GPRS	No
	EDGE	No
	Speed	No
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot
	Bluetooth	Yes
	Infrared port	Yes
	USB	Yes, microUSB (SlimPort) v2.0

CAMERA	Primary	5 MP, 2592х1944 pixels, check quality
	Features	Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, image stabilization, panorama, HDR
	Video	Yes, 1080p@30fps, check quality
	Secondary	Yes, 1.3 MP

FEATURES	OS	Android OS, v4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)
	Chipset	Qualcomm APQ8064 Pro Snapdragon 600
	CPU	Quad-core 1.7 GHz Krait 300
	GPU	Adreno 320
	Sensors	Accelerometer, proximity
	Messaging	MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
	Browser	HTML5
	Radio	No
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS
	Java	Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
	Colors	Black, White
		- SNS integration - MP4/DivX/XviD/H.264/H.263 player - MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player - Document viewer - Photo viewer/editor - Organizer - Voice memo - Predictive text input

BATTERY		Non-removable Li-Ion 4600 mAh battery